The eight-month deadline set by the Cabinet for the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports is no longer sacrosanct with the Government ensuring that no major decision is taken on the project for the next four months.While the Civil Aviation Ministry has allowed Airports Authority of India to invite expressions of interest from global players, the fact is that even the shortlisting process will have to wait till the new government assumes charge. The last date for the submission of EOI has been set as June 4, which according to official sources, is a fairly long period given that the Ministry had initially aimed to finalise the joint venture partner by mid-June.According to an ambitious timetable prepared by the Ministry after the Cabinet approval on September 11, this phase of shortlisting interested parties for detailed consideration should have been over by January. In fact, shorlisted parties were to be asked for their detailed proposals by the beginning of this month. But with the Government taking three months to just finalise the financial consultant for the project, a delay of over a month was always on the cards. Despite this, Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy had been insisting that the eight-month deadline set by the Cabinet will be honoured. In fact, the urgency was visible till as late as last month when AAI’s department for Key Infrastructure Development — which is handling the privatisation of these two airports — was placed under direct control of the Civil Aviation Ministry to expedite matters.Ministry officials continued to indicate that the process of inviting expressions of interest would be completed by March, which included shorlisting of applicants, who would then be asked to send detailed proposals for final selection. However, with a deadline that stretches up to June for submitting EOIs, the shortlisting has been left for the next government. According to the EOI document, interested parties will have to demonstrate their expertise in airport operations and have a minimum net worth of Rs. 500 crores. In case of a consortium, only the combined net worth of ‘‘prime members’’ will be considered. The registration amount is Rs. 5 lakh for filling up the EOI. The Government along with its public sector entities will hold not more than 26 per cent equity in the joint venture while retaining key functions such as security, air traffic services, customs and immigration.
